This invention relates to an alarm device and method utilizing a position controlled switch for giving a warning that a child has opened a toilet lid.
Every year, many young children drown or become severely and permanently injured when they fall into toilet bowls that were left open by adults, or were opened by the children themselves. Toilet lid locks are readily available in many different designs, but their effectiveness is dependent upon the user of the toilet remembering to close and lock the toilet lid. Efforts have also been made to provide devices to remind the user of a toilet to close the lid after use, but none of these have proved to be satisfactory or fully effective.
Efforts to solve the problem include apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,742, but that solution is problematical in that it is activated only for a limited period of time. Since the danger of a child drowning in a toilet does not diminish after some limited time period, this alarm system would be less than satisfactory as a safeguard against toilet drownings. Also, the signaling device is actuated only after the lid has been fully opened and is resting against the water tank. Because many drownings take place while the lid is not fully opened, the patented device would not prevent those accidents. Furthermore, the patent discloses a device that only actuates the alarm when the toilet has been flushed and the water tank is empty. Accidents often occur in toilets that have not been flushed, and the patented device would not prevent those accidents. Finally, the patented device has several separate components, which does not make for ease of installation.
The following U.S. Patents further illustrate the state of the art: Nos. 4,055,864, 4,462,023, 4,484,186, 4,995,120, and 4,736,471.